Mary Bottaro

I know, I know… I haven’t posted anything in months. Life gets busy.

I had a surprise visitor a week ago. SO fun! My high school field hockey coach Mary Bottaro and her good friend stopped by to see us for a few hours. Actually they went out of their way to visit. I can’t thank them enough. When Mary called on a Friday night to ask if I’d be home the next day I was in shock. Dan can attest that I was bouncing off the walls all evening and the next morning in anticipation of her arrival.

Mary and I have kept in touch through Christmas cards for all these years, but I’ve only seen her in person once in the last thirty years... and that was over 20 years ago.

The four of us went out for lunch and then came back to the house to reminisce for a while. So fun.

My coach. My mentor. My friend.

I truly believe that in many ways Mary was my John the Baptist. I knew she was a woman of faith even back in high school, but at that point in my life I wasn’t ready to believe… and being a public school teacher, she probably wasn’t able to share much anyway regarding her faith in God. I wasn’t ready to believe because I was struggling in a lot of areas, but God was still preparing the way for my future despite my thinking that He was dead.

What I needed and what I found, was a safe place. The high school gym felt like a cocoon of protection to my fearful heart. What I needed was strength, and my coach taught me how to have it. “Yes, you’re tired, cold, wet… doesn’t matter…. don’t you give up… you can do it.” What I needed, and found, was a cheerleader. Up and down the sidelines, win or lose, Mary was there quietly cheering us on… strong, controlled. We all knew she loved us. We wanted her to be proud. Mostly we won, not because we were spectacular athletes, but because she was a great coach. In fact, my senior year, we weren’t even scored on, and I’m pretty proud of that, being a defensive player.

Mary believed in us. In me. And when the real thing came along, Jesus, I was ready to believe because my John the Baptist had prepared the way.

I listen to another coach now. He is my safe place. He gives me strength. He cheers me on. But I wonder if I ever would have been ready to believe without my “John” preparing the way.

Mary Bottaro. My coach. My friend. Thank you for impacting me for good, building my character, preparing me to face my giants and fall to my knees in gratitude. I may “forget what is behind” but I’ll never forget you… and hopefully we won’t let 20 plus years go by before we see each other again!

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:13-14